Official Soundtrack
Official Soundtrack
The whisper of a fading flame sputtered from the fireplace, its life doing little to heat the cooling room save for the warmth of its scarlet hue upon Celestia’s canopied bed. The curtains shadowing her window swayed in the evening breeze, a dull, dry gust tapping the shutters against the walls.
The little princess yawned, looking up from the open book resting on the bed in front of her, its weight pressing into the comforter. Celestia let out a satisfied sigh, her horn lighting up and illuminating her face as she placed her bookmark between the pages.
Her tummy growled, her eyes blinking in confusion as she glanced around, finally noticing just how dark it had become. It was in this dim light that she closed the book and hopped off the bed, stretching as her magic yanked the curtains open. She stepped up to the windowsill and smiled at the setting sun beyond the blazing barrier surrounding Canterlot; a beautiful end to an otherwise tumultuous day for the young heir.
As she brought her front hooves back to the floor, her stomach gurgled at her again. “Oh yes, I hear you…” she muttered, trotting on over to the door to her room.
Just as she reached for the handle, however, there was a firm, thrice-repeated knock. Celestia tilted her head and opened the door, revealing her little sister’s wide and excited eyes, a toothy grin across her face. “Oh, hello Luna.”
The younger princess reached her hoof forward and poked Celestia on the snout, causing the elder princess to wrinkle her nose as she went cross-eyed. “How far are you now?” Luna asked.
Celestia’s eyes refocused as Luna lowered her hoof, a small giggle escaping her as she smiled down at her little sister. “I just finished chapter 27, so I’m in Chapter 28 now”
The smug expression painting Luna’s face disappeared, quickly replaced by an open jaw and a pair of curious eyes. “Woah! How long were you reading for?”
“I don’t know!” Celestia said. “How far did you get?”
“Chapter 29! You almost caught up to me!” Luna said.
Celestia wiggled happily, before clearing her throat as she tried to mask her competitive spirit. “Cool! But now I’m hungry… I’m gonna go get a snack before bed. Wanna come?”
Luna nodded eagerly. “Yeah!”
The two sisters began making their way down the empty hallway, at first in silence save for the clip-clopping of their hooves against the tiled floor. Celestia gazed at her little sister in curiosity, finding the younger princess staring ahead in a bit of a daze. “Okay, what’s the matter? You’re usually so talkative before bed.”
Luna flinched as she met Celestia’s gaze. “H-huh? Oh, sorry… I’m just thinking, that's all.”
Celestia leaned in, bumping her sister playfully. “About what?”
“The book,” Luna said. “Something kinda weird happened in chapter 28.”
Celestia’s gut instinct was to flatten her ears, a retort on the tip of her tongue at the prospect of the story being spoiled, but her curiosity got the better of her. “Weird? What do you mean weird?”
“Weird as in… well I guess it’s not really a spoiler…” Luna started. “You know how they’re looking for the Starfield Ink, right?”
Celestia narrowed her eyes anxiously. “Uhuh…?”
“Well… apparently they have to go to a place called… Cobnshire,” Luna said.
“Okay…?” Celestia murmured.
Luna frowned. “Cobnshire. Y’know… the place mentioned in that diary?”
The name finally clicked for little Celestia as she perked up. “Oh! That’s right! It was in the Silver Scrolls Saga?”
“Yeah! And that’s not all… I read a bit more of the journal and there’s all kinds of stuff from the journal in the book!” Luna said.
Now Celestia was especially intrigued. “Really? Do you think the book is inspired by this journal?”
“It’s gotta be!” Luna declared. “How else could there be so many of the same names!”
“I didn’t read much of the journal…” Celestia admitted. “You seemed way more interested in it anyway.”
“It’s reeeaaally tough to read… but I think I understand some of it. I dunno if I’ll keep reading, though. It’s kinda confusing,” Luna said.
Celestia chuckled as a low, distant rumbling echoed beyond the walls. “Maybe we should put it back then. Mother seemed like she didn’t want anything to happen to it.”
“No! I wanna keep trying… it’s a challenge!” Luna declared.
“If you say so,” Celestia replied as they stepped out into the main hall and began making their way down the stairs. “Just don’t lose it, okay?”
“No way I’m gonna lose a book that cool!” Luna said, before she stopped in her tracks halfway down the stairs.
Celestia looked over her shoulder at her little sister, tilting her head. “You okay?”
“Where is everypony…?”
Celestia looked around the main hall, the doors unguarded and not a single soldier patrolling the central hub of the castle. “Yeah, actually… this place is usually pretty busy this time of night.”
The eerie silence was broken by another rumbling. This time the very castle seemed to quiver as Luna hopped down the steps to join her sister at the bottom. “Was there supposed to be a thunderstorm tonight?”
A sinking feeling settled into Celestia’s little heart, her mother’s words from earlier in the day echoing in her mind. Something dangerous…
“I hope it’s a thunderstorm!” Luna continued in response to Celestia’s bewilderment. “I love thunderstorms. Can we watch the lightning from your room? You have the best view of the mountain!”
“No, that doesn’t sound like thunder…” Celestia said, lowering her voice, an overwhelming sense of dread beginning to set in.
The booming eased for a moment, the air growing stale with tension as the two princesses turned their gazes to the gigantic wooden door leading to the courtyard, a shimmering stained glass window above it.
Luna nudged her older sister. “We should go see what’s going-”
As if the very heavens had been ruptured, a resounding CRACK filled the air, and the window over the door shattered as the entire world heaved. The two princesses screamed as they staggered back, shards of glass tearing through the air towards them.
“YOUR MAJESTIES!” A female voice exclaimed, before a violet unicorn dove between the fillies. With a flash of magic, a purple barrier surrounded the two sisters and their protector, the glass raining down as the unicorn winced.
When there was nothing left of the window, the barrier dropped and the unicorn whirled around in a panic, her clean-cut dark-blue mane whipping with her. As Celestia looked her savior in the eye, her head throbbed in pain and she let out a gasp. The unicorn only sized up the princesses. “Are you two alright?”
Luna nodded, her eyes wide with wonder. “Uhuh! Who are you?”
Celestia placed a hoof to her head as she winced, squinting as her vision began to double. “W-wait… do I… know you?” Celestia stammered.
“Yes! Well uh… actually, no. I-it’s complicated,” the unicorn fumbled over her words. “It doesn’t matter right now, anyway! We gotta get you to your mother. She’ll know what to do. This way!” she said before taking off down the hall.
Luna chased after the unicorn, but Celestia struggled to regain her balance, shaking her head in confusion as strange and unfamiliar thoughts swarmed her. It felt as though she had suddenly noticed a piece of her heart was missing.
Finally bringing herself up to a gallop, she caught up with the others as something dawned on her. “T-Twilight! Your name is Twilight Sparkle!” Celestia exclaimed.
Twilight looked over her shoulder briefly in dismay. “D-don’t think about that! Just uh… follow me! This isn’t good…”
“W-what’s going on?” Luna shouted as another rumbling stirred the castle walls.
Celestia blinked a strange drowsiness from her eyes, pulling up beside her sister as Twilight kept her eyes forward. “Canterlot is under attack! Your mother is keeping the shield up right now with the others!”
Celestia’s mouth hung open in disbelief as they rounded the corner and approached a double-door. “Under attack? From what?”
Twilight burst through the door and into the gardens, the crimson light of the sunset blazing through Stella’s protective dome.
Celestia and Luna skidded to a halt as they looked up to the orange sky to see a black, blotchy fluid forming into a bulbous shape before splattering against the barrier and sliding down to the bottom, pooling into another mass.
Beams of multicoloured light extended up from all over the garden, unicorns gathered around as they funneled their power into the magical shield. Celestia nearly screeched as the barrier cracked, the substance striking the barrier again before the fractures were quickly repaired with a whine. “W-What is THAT?” Celestia cried out.
“The inkblight!” Just a few meters ahead, Stella held her ground, calling to her foals as her fiery magic connected her horn to the protective dome. “J-just like the story… nngh-!”
Celestia and Luna both stared in terror as their mother strained against the barrier. “T-Twilight! Help the others!” Stella exclaimed as her daughters rushed to her side. “Girls, listen to me. P-page 372 of the Silver Scrolls Saga…” she choked.
Celestia whimpered. “I-I don’t understand…”
“I need you to… to go and read that page.”
Fear finally began to settle across Luna’s face as she looked back and forth between her mother and the inky monster above. “Mother, I’m scared!”
“Be brave, my dear… mommy has a v-very important job for you; for both of you!” Stella said.
A purple spear of magic shot into the sky, joining the rainbow of pillars keeping the barrier up as Stella let out a gasp of relief, visibly slumping a bit as Twilight joined the defensive effort. “Either of your copies will do… j-just read page 372 and you’ll understand soon enough! Take the journal with you… quickly!”
“B-but what about you?” Celestia said.
“I will be fine, sweetheart, but you must hurry!” Another round of thunder echoed off the mountains as the inkblight struck the shield again, causing Stella to stumble before redoubling her magic and gritting her teeth. Beyond all the magic, Celestia could see the mountain turning black and appearing to melt away, leaving behind a white canvas-like emptiness.
Luna was the first to turn around and run back inside, while Celestia backed away from her mother. “B-but I-”
Stella held her daughter’s gaze, her face awash with both desperation and sorrow. “I-I am sorry, Celestia. I have not been honest with you… I had hoped my return to Equestria would be under happier circumstances.”
“R-return? Mother, what do you mean?” Celestia squeaked.
“I-I wish I could explain! Oh, I wish I could explain… B-but know this: only through you and your sister’s innocence can this blight be banished!” Stella gasped.
Celestia shook her head, her headache only growing more intense as she tried - and failed - to find her words. Her mother grimaced, those tired eyes burning into the filly. “You wanted to help me… right, little sunshine?”
Celestia’s heart skipped a beat, wincing at the painful smile her mother gave her. The elder princess nodded and sniffed, before darting back through the door after her sister.
“C’mon, Tia!” Luna called over her shoulder.
“R-right behind you!”
The two sisters unleashed a percussive symphony upon the tiled floor as they galloped back to the main hall, rushing up the stairs and squealing around a corner to reach their twin rooms. Celestia panted as she caught up with her sister. “You have the journal in your room, right?”
“Y-yeah!” Luna replied, skidding to a halt in front of her door and kicking it open. “I’ll grab it, you flip to the right page!”
“Okay!” Celestia scanned the room, the layout not unlike her own. Her eyes landed on the side-table of her sister’s bed, the massive storybook resting precariously on the edge. Her golden aura wrapped around the tome and threw it open onto the bed, the filly hopping up and turning pages rapidly. 248… 293… 357… She slowed her pace as she neared the target page, while the lurch of the bed beneath her signaled Luna’s arrival.
“There!” Celestia said, pointing at page 372 as a resounding boom sounded from beyond the veiled window. Only a single paragraph sat at the top of the page, a chapter heading following it.
“Start reading, start reading!” Luna exclaimed, now holding the journal tight to her body.
Celestia tried her best to take deep, controlled breaths as she stared at the words on the page. Her heart raced as blood roared in her ears, her mind aflutter with fear.
“Then - in their time of greatest need - will th-...” she froze as she pre-read the words, pale, silver-and-gold lights beginning to dance around them as the book glowed.
“Keep going!” Luna begged.
Celestia swallowed her confusion, forcing herself to continue as a powerful wind began to blow. “Then - in their time of greatest need - will the princesses turn to the world of fantasy. For it is only in the world of fantasy that the gloom of despair can be so easily bested. Let Equestria’s river of time be dammed up, let the old become young, and let fear make way for courage. Hark now, dear reader, and join me in Clydestale - the birthplace of imagination!”
